Yuya Ishii (director)

Yuya Ishii
Yuya Ishii
石井裕也
Born	June 21, 1983 (age 43); Saitama Prefecture, Japan
Occupations	Movie director; writer;
Years active	2005–present
Spouses	Hikari Mitsushima (m. 2010; div. 2016); Itsuki Sagara (m. 2018);
Children	1

Yuya Ishii (石井裕也, Ishii Yūya; born 21 June 1983) is a Japanese film director, writer, editor, producer and actor best known for his 2013 movie The Great Passage for which he won best director at the 2013 Japanese Academy Awards.^[1]

Biography

Ishii was born in Urawa City, Saitama Prefecture on June 21, 1983.^[2] He is the second of two brothers and was raised by a single father after his mother succumbed to an illness when he was young.^[3]^[4]

Personal life

Yuya Ishii won best director at the 2010 Blue Ribbon Awards,^[5]^[6] and the movie also resulted in his marriage in late 2010 to the lead actress Hikari Mitsushima, a former member of the J-pop group member Folder 5 and actress in such films as Death Note (2006) and Love Exposure (2008).^[6] They divorced in 2016.^[7]

In June 2018, Ishii shared the news that he had remarried actress Itsuki Sagara, who is twelve years younger than him, and that they were already expecting their first child.^[8] A year later in late August 2019, it was announced that his wife had given birth to their first child.^[8]^[9] His wife has also since retired from acting to focus on their family.^[10]

Filmography

Films

Rebel, Jiro's Love (2006)
Girl Sparks (2007)
Of Monster Mode (2007)
Bare-assed Japan (2007)
To Walk Beside You (2009)
Sawako Decides (2010)
Mitsuko Delivers (2011)
Azemichi no dandi (2011)
The Great Passage (2013)
The Vancouver Asahi (2014)
Our Family (2014)
The Tokyo Night Sky Is Always the Densest Shade of Blue (2017)
Almost a Miracle (2019)^[11]
All the Things We Never Said (2020)^[12]
The Asian Angel (2021)
A Madder Red (2021)^[13]
Masked Hearts (2023)^[14]
The Moon (2023)^[15]
The Real You (2024)^[16]
One Last Love Letter (2026)^[17]
The Secret Battlefield (2026)^[18]

Television

When a Tree Falls (2018)^[19]
Simulation: Defeat in the Summer of 1941 (2025)^[18]

Awards

Asian Film Awards

2008 - Edward Yang New Talent
2018 - "Best Director" - The Tokyo Night Sky Is Always the Densest Shade of Blue

Blue Ribbon Awards

2011 - "Best Director" - Sawako Decides

Japanese Academy Awards

2013 - "Best Director" - The Great Passage

Mainichi Film Award

2013 - "Best Director" - The Great Passage

Kinema Junpo Award

2013 - "Best Director" - The Great Passage

References

↑ "'The Great Passage' Wins Best Picture at Japan's Academy Awards".
↑ "石井裕也 - 略歴・フィルモグラフィー -KINENOTE（キネノート）". www.kinenote.com. Archived from the original on 14 August 2025. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
↑ "「これで僕の『若者』としての映画制作は終わる」石井裕也監督が語る『ぼくたちの家族』への気概 - webDICE". webDICE (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 21 October 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
↑ "石井裕也監督インタビュー：映画『ガール・スパークス』について". INTRO : オルタナティブな視点で映画を愉しむ映画情報サイト (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 6 December 2024. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
↑ "Rekidai jushō ichiranhyō". Cinema Hochi. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
1 2 "53rd Blue Ribbon Awards: Tetsuya Nakashima's "Kokuhaku" named Best Picture". TokyoGraph. 25 January 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
↑ "Hikari Mitsushima announces divorce, dating Kento Nagayama". 21 May 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
1 2 "相楽樹、第1子出産していた　6月に石井裕也監督と結婚｜最新ニュース｜eltha（エルザ）" [Itsuki Sagara gave birth to her first child; she married director Yuya Ishii in June.]. eltha (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 6 December 2025. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
↑ INC., SANKEI DIGITAL (3 September 2018). "相楽樹、第１子出産していた！　６月に石井裕也氏との結婚と妊娠を発表" [Itsuki Sagara has given birth to her first child! She announced her marriage to Yuya Ishii and her pregnancy in June.]. サンスポ (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 6 April 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
↑ "相楽樹、"役者仲間と疎遠"の子育てママを直撃「復帰はまったく考えていない」" [Itsuki Sagara interviews a mother raising children who has become estranged from fellow actors: 'I'm not thinking about returning to work at all']. 週刊女性PRIME (in Japanese). 30 March 2026. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
↑ "町田くんの世界". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 December 2025.
↑ "生きちゃった". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 24 June 2024.
↑ "石井裕也×尾野真千子「茜色に焼かれる」公開、生きにくい時代に翻弄される母子描く". Crank-in!. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
↑ "松岡茉優と窪田正孝のW主演作「愛にイナズマ」今秋公開、監督・脚本は石井裕也". Natalie. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
↑ "月". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 30 June 2023.
↑ "本心". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 21 June 2024.
↑ "人はなぜラブレターを書くのか". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 5 December 2025.
1 2 "開戦前夜". Eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 1 June 2026.
↑ "妻夫木聡×井上真央『乱反射』9月21日劇場公開決定石井裕也監督「悲願でした」". Real Sound. Retrieved 26 February 2022.

External links

Yuya Ishii at IMDb
'Bare-Assed Japan' (2005) - Edward Yang New Talent at the 2nd Asian Film awards http://www.lovehkfilm.com/panasia/bare_assed_japan.html
Yuya Ishii marries actress Hikari Mitsushima http://www.tokyograph.com/news/hikari-mitsushima-marries-director-yuya-ishii

[1] "'The Great Passage' Wins Best Picture at Japan's Academy Awards".

[2] "石井裕也 - 略歴・フィルモグラフィー -KINENOTE（キネノート）". www.kinenote.com. Archived from the original on 14 August 2025. Retrieved 31 March 2026.

[3] "「これで僕の『若者』としての映画制作は終わる」石井裕也監督が語る『ぼくたちの家族』への気概 - webDICE". webDICE (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 21 October 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2026.

[4] "石井裕也監督インタビュー：映画『ガール・スパークス』について". INTRO : オルタナティブな視点で映画を愉しむ映画情報サイト (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 6 December 2024. Retrieved 31 March 2026.

[5] "Rekidai jushō ichiranhyō". Cinema Hochi. Retrieved 30 June 2011.

[Tokyograph-6] 1 2 "53rd Blue Ribbon Awards: Tetsuya Nakashima's "Kokuhaku" named Best Picture". TokyoGraph. 25 January 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2011.

[7] "Hikari Mitsushima announces divorce, dating Kento Nagayama". 21 May 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2016.

[:0-8] 1 2 "相楽樹、第1子出産していた　6月に石井裕也監督と結婚｜最新ニュース｜eltha（エルザ）" [Itsuki Sagara gave birth to her first child; she married director Yuya Ishii in June.]. eltha (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 6 December 2025. Retrieved 31 March 2026.

[9] INC., SANKEI DIGITAL (3 September 2018). "相楽樹、第１子出産していた！　６月に石井裕也氏との結婚と妊娠を発表" [Itsuki Sagara has given birth to her first child! She announced her marriage to Yuya Ishii and her pregnancy in June.]. サンスポ (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 6 April 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2026.

[10] "相楽樹、"役者仲間と疎遠"の子育てママを直撃「復帰はまったく考えていない」" [Itsuki Sagara interviews a mother raising children who has become estranged from fellow actors: 'I'm not thinking about returning to work at all']. 週刊女性PRIME (in Japanese). 30 March 2026. Retrieved 31 March 2026.

[11] "町田くんの世界". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 December 2025.

[12] "生きちゃった". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 24 June 2024.

[13] "石井裕也×尾野真千子「茜色に焼かれる」公開、生きにくい時代に翻弄される母子描く". Crank-in!. Retrieved 26 February 2021.

[14] "松岡茉優と窪田正孝のW主演作「愛にイナズマ」今秋公開、監督・脚本は石井裕也". Natalie. Retrieved 25 April 2023.

[15] "月". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 30 June 2023.

[16] "本心". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 21 June 2024.

[17] "人はなぜラブレターを書くのか". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 5 December 2025.

[Simulation1941-18] 1 2 "開戦前夜". Eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 1 June 2026.

[19] "妻夫木聡×井上真央『乱反射』9月21日劇場公開決定石井裕也監督「悲願でした」". Real Sound. Retrieved 26 February 2022.

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Authority control databases
International	ISNI VIAF WorldCat
National	United States Japan
Other	Yale LUX

Yuya Ishii
石井裕也
Born	(1983-06-21) June 21, 1983 (age 43) Saitama Prefecture, Japan
Occupations	Movie director writer
Years active	2005–present
Spouses	Hikari Mitsushima (m. 2010; div. 2016) Itsuki Sagara (m. 2018)
Children	1